An Ultimate Ultimatum
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In this week’s lectionary reading from the Hebrew scriptures, Moses confronts the Israelites with a stark reality: “I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.” In other words, if we “obey the commandments of the Lord your God” then the life we choose will be full of blessings -- a state of affairs that the psalmist underlines by pointing out that those who “walk in the law of the Lord” will find great happiness. But on the other hand, if our hearts “turn away and [we] do not hear [and] are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that [we] shall perish.” As team member Dean Feldmeyer notes in this installment of The Immediate Word, it seems like a straightforward proposition: follow the Lord and choose life, or opt for the immediate gratification offered by false gods and choose death. But as Dean also points out, that underestimates the seductiveness of other gods... especially in a complex modern world that causes us to yearn for easy answers rather than the ongoing challenges of following the path Jesus sets before us.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on God’s approach to “law and order” as outlined in this week’s texts. While we may think it’s as simple as following all of God’s precepts, Mary reminds us that merely following rules is to have the entire process backward. Rather, we obey God by living in harmony with him -- and thus abiding by his laws follows inevitably from our devotion. It is when we choose to chase other gods that we create separation from God -- and thus sentence ourselves to a bad outcome as certainly as a stupid criminal who makes silly choices.
An Ultimate Ultimatum
by Dean Feldmeyer
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The children of Israel are stopped in Moab, at the very edge of the Promised Land, so close they can smell the milk and honey in the air. But before they cross the Jordan, Moses stops everything and preaches a sermon.
“Okay,” he says to the people. “Here’s the deal. You’re about to inhabit the land which God has promised to you. If, when you get over there, you live as God has commanded you to live, everything is going to be great. You are going to prosper and multiply and be happy. But if you allow yourselves to be seduced into worshiping other gods and doing what they allegedly command, then you are going to die. Your land will be beset with trouble and the whole nation will perish. It’s that simple.”
Follow and obey the Lord, God of Israel and live. Or follow some other god and die.
Life or death; it’s your choice.
Three thousand years later, that choice is still before us. God has presented us with an ultimatum about ultimate concerns -- an ultimate ultimatum.
Obey God, as God is made known to us in Jesus Christ, and thrive. Or wander after other gods and die. Simple, right?
Except that those other gods are so many and so attractive, and their promises are so enticing...
In the Scriptures
There is nothing matter of fact or frivolous about the subject which Moses brings to the People of God on the eve of their march into the Promised Land.
It is, he says, a matter of life and death.
It is, as Paul Tillich would put it, a matter of Ultimate Concern.
And that subject is, in a word, “idolatry.”
The greatest threat that the Children of Israel would face upon entering the land that would eventually become Israel was not human foes or the armies of enemies. The greatest threat was not giants or monsters or vast cities. It was not Sodom or Gomorrah or Jericho, not the Jebusites, the Moabites, or the Philistines.
It was the temptation of idolatry, the temptation to worship things that are not worthy of worship.
It is easy, of course, to make the mistake of thinking that idolatry is simple, like making images out of wood or gold or jade and praying to them. That is a form of idolatry, of course, but it is only one form. There are others.
Moses defines idolatry for his people by defining its opposite first (v. 16).
Here is what it looks like when we are not being idolatrous:
1) We love God;
2) We walk in God’s ways; and
3) We observe God’s commandments, decrees, and ordinances.
The opposite of that is found in the next verse (v. 17). We are being idolatrous when we “bow down to other gods and serve them.” When we treat things that are not of ultimate concern as if they are, when we treat things that are created as if they are creators, when we live and walk by rules that are created by something or someone other than God, that is idolatry.
And idolatry inevitably leads to destruction and death. It has to. Anything that is not created by God eventually crumbles and fails. It might take years, even centuries -- but it dies, either by the hand of nature or of human beings.
This is not a threat: it is simply a description of the way life is, the way God made it.
In the Culture
There are so many things that call out to us, that tempt us to worship them instead of God. There are so many things that promise to make our lives better, more fulfilling, more authentic if only we will love them, walk in their ways, and abide by their commandments.
Take the god of “politics,” for instance.
Pick a political philosophy, any political philosophy -- Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Tea Party, Socialist. They are all, at this level, the same. If you promise to love them and dedicate yourself to them until death do you part, they will, they promise, fix all your troubles, solve all your problems, and give your life the depth and meaning that you have been seeking.
If you walk in their ways, upon their narrow path, placing your feet in all the right places, you will see not just your life but all of life blossom and grow. Just as long as you follow in their ways and do not diverge from their path by even so much as a millimeter, things will be just fine.
And if you keep their ordinances and decrees and commandments as they are interpreted only by the appointed high priests and potentates, and follow them to the letter without question, then you will know real life.
Idolatry.
There are other false gods as well, gods to which we from time to time give all of our faith and devotion.
There is a god called “jobs” to which we will bow down, and, if we are not very careful, for which we will sacrifice our entire communities and our ways of life.
There is a false god named “safety” to which, if we are not careful, we will sacrifice the Constitution of the United States and the commandment of Jesus to love one another.
There is an idol called “patriotism” and one called “our country” to which we have and probably will again sacrifice our children, even while we sneer at Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac to the God of the Universe.
Indeed, the idols that surround us and cry out for our attention and our devotion are too many to name here. Some are obvious, and others are very cagey. Why, even the church, the Bible, and our own forms of worship can become idols if we let them, things to which we give the devotion and the adoration that should be reserved only for God, things that we allow to shove God aside and rise in our consciousness to the level of ultimate concern.
That’s not to say that any of these things are, in and of themselves, bad or evil. It is simply to realize that anything can become evil and idolatrous when we turn it into and worship it as a god, when we assign to it our allegiance, our attachment, our dedication, our deference, our faithfulness, and our fealty.
And when we allow that to happen, we put ourselves in a very fragile, indelicate, and dangerous position -- because this issue, the issue of idolatry, says Moses, is a matter of life and death.
In the Sermon
When I was ten years old my family lived in rural Indiana, and there was a rite of passage that most ten-year-old boys went through in that place and time. It was called the BB gun.
I got mine on the Christmas following my tenth birthday, and I remember that it was a solemn occasion indeed. After all the presents were unwrapped, my dad took me out to the backyard and showed me how to load the gun, pump/cock it, and shoot it. He was very serious about gun safety.
His speech was an ultimatum that went something like this: “Dean, this is a gun, not a toy. You treat it with respect, and remember that it’s always loaded and cocked. If you prove that you can be responsible with this one, then in a couple of years you can get a .22 [rifle], and if you are responsible with that, in a couple more years you can get a shotgun. Do you understand?”
I nodded that I did. My head was filled with visions of myself out in the snowy farm fields that surrounded our home, kicking up and killing rabbits, pheasant, and partridge and bringing them home for supper.
Then my father added this: “But if I ever see or hear of you being irresponsible or unsafe with this gun, there will never be another one. Ever. No second chances.”
I understood that as well.
His ultimatum may not have been about ultimate concerns, but it made very clear what the real issues, the really important parts of gun ownership were. And it laid out for me my two options. Safe and responsible = life. Unsafe and irresponsible = the death of any dreams I had about going hunting with my dad.
The ultimatum that Moses delivers to the Children of Israel, and to us, is no less clear.
On the one hand we can choose devotion to God.
We can choose to love God. That is the only appropriate basis for a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. It is not a relationship based on fear or on some quid pro quo with a payoff at the end. It is based on love.
Because we are Christians, we come into it seeing it through the lens that is Jesus Christ.
We agree to love God, as God comes to us in Jesus Christ, and that agreement is not unlike the relationship we initiate when we promise to love and to cherish, and to honor and to keep, forsaking all others, until we are parted by death. When we promise to love our spouse or our God, we acknowledge that love is a decision and a commitment freely made.
Our relationship with God leads us to walk in God’s way as it comes to us through Jesus Christ, the way of grace, peace, love, kindness, and generosity. His way is the narrow way that is so demanding that only a few can pass through it, but it is the only way that leads to real, eternal, and authentic life -- and it is to that way that we commit ourselves.
Our relationship with God also stands upon a foundation of obedience when we freely agree to keep and obey God’s commandments and ordinances and laws as they come to us in Jesus Christ. This is especially true not just of the Ten Commandments but of the Beatitudes as well, and of the Great Commandment to love God and our neighbor, and the Great Commission to share that love with everyone all over the world.
To do any less, to love a thing or a lesser being as though it was God, to walk in the way of a person, a group, a philosophy that comes to us through anyone other than Jesus Christ, to make ourselves obedient to anyone or anything that is less than the God of history, is to place our very lives and the lives of those we love in jeopardy.
For this is all a matter of ultimate concern, a matter of life and death.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; Matthew 5:21-37
The stupidity of criminals is such a popular topic that the Huffington Post has a whole section devoted to it. Dumb Criminals devotes its entire website to similar stories. We love to know that when someone breaks the law, the punishment is swift and fitting. If the criminals punish themselves with their own missteps, even better. Most often, justice is more nuanced -- and elusive. The system punishes the innocent and misses the guilty.
We long for certainty, and for justice to land in the right places. We talk about “law and order” as if one inevitably follows the other. If human justice is flawed, surely God’s law offers more certainty. Right? Right?!
Speaking to the pilgrim people of Israel as they prepare to enter the promised land, Moses seems to offer just that kind of certainty. “If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God,” he says, “then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering.” If the people don’t follow God’s laws, then punishment will come. It seems simple enough. The obedience Moses is talking about, though, is not rule-following but the people giving their hearts to God. Choosing God, obeying God, and holding onto God are all twined together. It’s more than checking boxes or following a list of rules.
“Happy are those who walk in the law of the Lord,” the psalmist proclaims. Happy, or blessed, are the people whose lives align with God’s law. Law is singular -- we’re meant to arrange our lives to fit the pattern of God’s overall law, not the huge number of particular laws in the Hebrew scriptures. Are we blessed by God when we follow this divinely set path? Is it like putting a quarter in the gumball machine -- does following the rules leads to a reward? Yes, but the reward is never what we expect. There’s no guarantee of shiny new sports cars in the driveway and lottery winnings.
How will the people know when they’ve done enough? When is following God’s law complete?
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus offers his own interpretation of the law. He has already announced that he has not come to abolish the law but to make it complete (5:17), and now he asks his followers to go deeper with each law. Following God’s law has a deeper requirement than remembering not to kill people -- we have to deal with our murderous impulses, even when we never act on them. Murder is rare. The anger that lives in our hearts is an everyday problem, and is much more demanding. The same is true with adultery. Being physically unfaithful requires a lot of planning -- hotel rooms, secret texts, and remembering the lies you tell. Our inner fantasies are easier to schedule, but they have the same result -- turning another person into a bit player in our lives for our own needs. On the question of divorce, Jesus again takes a stronger stand than the requirements of the law. Finally he says that when we do all of that, our word will be enough. We don’t need to amplify it with an oath.
Jesus’ words on divorce are hard to navigate in our world, when everyone listening to these words will be divorced, or related to someone who is. Jesus is calling us to act toward one another in ways that are better than what we are required to do. He’s also recognizing that once two people have been married, a bond continues between them even when the legal tie dissolves. Each person continues to carry a part the other with them, even when the legal tie is gone. The family that can vacation together after a divorce or the former spouses who spend the holidays together show us the essence of what Jesus is talking about here, in a different time.
It turns out that he seeks a law of caring for one another. Even in our thoughts, we are supposed to watch out for one another’s well-being.
I sometimes see a bumper sticker that says: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!” If only! If only God would give us a checklist. That would be so much easier than what Moses lays out in Deuteronomy, and Jesus adds in his words. Really, when God says it that’s just the beginning. Jesus adds to it. We ponder its meaning for our lives. God asks not for rule-followers but for people who align their hearts toward the holy.
We’re able to do this because we already belong to God. Scholar Terence Fretheim observes that “It is important to recognize that this word of God is delivered to a people that had already been redeemed by God (see Deuteronomy 7:7-8). This is a word from God to God’s chosen and redeemed people. So, when they are called by God to ‘choose life’ (Deuteronomy 30:19), this is a word given to them from within their relationship with God, not a means by which they could become the people of God.” God’s people are not earning their place in God’s heart; they’re choosing to keep the connection.
The psalmist has the order for us when he writes: “Happy are those who... seek [God] with their whole heart” -- then he adds “who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways.” Seeking God comes first. Searching for God with our whole hearts is the overall guide that leads us into following all of the other requirements. When we don’t follow, we end up punishing ourselves. Our separation from God creates pain. Our use of other people as outlets for our anger, fantasy, or revenge divides us from them. Our spiritual stupidity punishes us with division from God and one another. Like the dumbest of criminals, our sentence comes from our own choices.
But we can always choose the vibrant life that God offers, and keep turning toward the holy. The option to “choose life,” to choose in the direction of God is continually before us. We fall short, choose foolishly, act without love -- and still, by grace, have the chance to choose again to move toward God. The work of following is never complete, and the reward is always in front of us -- more of God’s presence in our lives.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Resilience as the Path Toward Life
Moses’ speech is straightforward and clear: the past for Israel has been one of struggle, adversity, and trauma. Yet there is a way forward, a way that leads to a blessed and prosperous life. The way forward, found by walking in God’s way, is a way of resilience that builds on the adversity of the past to experience a more hopeful, confident future.
Resilience is defined as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress -- such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. It means ‘bouncing back’ from difficult experiences.”
Theologically, of course, God calls Israel to do more than “bounce back.” God calls Israel to a way of resilient faith which eschews idols and quick-fixes for a maturing relationship with God.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Beyond Trauma
Advances in multiple fields of science have shown the impact that early experiences of trauma have on the future mental and physical health of children. Research shows that the ability of children to “choose life” and life-giving health is deeply impacted by early experiences of trauma. Many believe that the impact of childhood trauma can lead to emotional and physical symptoms decades later. “Toxic stress” events such as bullying, witnessing domestic abuse, and acts of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse have a profound impact on developing brains.
It’s another indication of Moses’ imploring to seek life -- a reminder for families of the resources a healthy faith community can provide in helping children learn the life-giving ways of faith.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
Seeking Reconciliation
The community Jesus invites us to build in God’s name is a community rooted in peace, a community that seeks reconciliation -- even up to the extreme move of leaving a gift at the altar so that one may be reconciled to an estranged sister of brother.
As the residents of Quebec City come together in the wake of the attack on a mosque last week, many are discovering the power of this sort of “extreme” reconciliation. Four women -- two Muslim and two Catholic -- gathered near the blood-stained carpeting of the Quebec City mosque last week in order to find understanding. Six days after a gunman attacked worshipers at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec, the women sought a new solidarity:
“The solidarity we’ve seen from Quebecers, it really surprised us and it helped put a balm on the enormous wound,” Samira Laouni, wearing a hijab, told the others. “Since Monday, the silent majority has stood up and said no to hatred, no to division.”
Across from her: Thérèse Morin, visiting a mosque for the first time and having her first conversation with Muslims, at an open house organized by the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec as it reopened six days after a gunman killed six men as they prayed there.
Morin showed up because of a Muslim man who spoke at a memorial service for the victims last week at the church across the street, Notre-Dame-de-Foy, where she sings in the choir.
“He started his speech by saying, ‘In my religion, we are told that when you love someone you should tell them,’ ” Morin said. “So he looked at us and told us, ‘I love you.’ I was so touched, I was almost shaking.”
Then, “he talked about how Quebecers are welcoming, warm, resilient. Honestly, I didn’t expect to hear something like that in these circumstances.”
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Joseph Meli and Steven Simmons of New York City had a good and lucrative business going for them. Corporations would invest money with them, which they would use to purchase expensive theater tickets. In return, the companies received a profit on the tickets sold at an inflated price. The only catch was that this was a Ponzi scheme. Meli and Simmons used the money from one company to cover the investment of another company, while using their gains to support an extravagant lifestyle. After a year when investors began to call in the money, the duo could not repay. William Sweeney, of the FBI, said: “When fraudsters think they’re going to get away with scheming investors out of money, they tend to forget that at some point the money will run out. It’s the way a Ponzi scheme ends.”
Application: We are cautioned about worshiping false gods.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
California has approved the recreational use of marijuana. The state is now confronted with writing rules and regulations regarding multiple aspects of the new law, including licensing requirements, environmental issues, and homegrown restrictions to just name a few. Presently the law calls for 20 different licenses alone. Twelve individuals, working in cubicles, have until January 1, 2018 to have all the regulations in place. State Senator Mike McGuire, whose Northern California district has the best fields for the new project that will collect $1 billion in taxes, said that California’s team of regulators is “building the airplane while it’s being flown.”
Application: Deuteronomy is trying to bring some kind of order to society.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
I was a state trooper before being called into the ordained ministry. It took me some time to reorient myself to church people’s understanding of sin. It seemed to me that they got all riled up over the most innocuous behavior as being a sinful act. For me, sin began at the door of the Richmond State Penitentiary. I came to realize that most church people did not understand what bad behavior really is. I also realized they were never really exposed to acts so vile as to put a man in the penitentiary. If they had a better understanding of real evil, they would have tempered their condemnation of others. (Note: You can personalize this by introducing it with the statement “A friend shared with me...”)
Application: Deuteronomy wants us to understand the meaning of sin.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The 16 novels in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins use vivid imagery to show how horrible it will be for those who are left behind during the Rapture. One could also suppose that a primary purpose of the books is to scare people into believing in Jesus. From the sale of the books, movie rights, and many commercial products associated with the books (such as a Left Behind mouse pad), Tim LaHaye has become a multimillionaire. He is worth in excess of $6 million. Tim and his wife Beverly used the money to live an extravagant lifestyle. When questioned why someone who expected the immediate return of Jesus would accumulate such a massive amount of wealth instead of donating it to the cause of evangelism to spare as many people from being left behind as possible, LaHaye dismissed the inquiry by saying he tithed.
Application: There is a need for us to teach people the proper gospel message and not to worship the god of self.
*****
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The movie The Young Messiah tells about a year in the life of young Jesus when his family fled to Egypt, and then returned to Nazareth. The opening credits state that the movie is based on the gospel stories. In one scene, young Jesus is walking along the beach and comes upon a dead bluebird. He takes the bird in his hands and massages it, then the bird miraculously comes to life and flies away. The little girl who is with him is amazed. The problem with this story is that it comes from in an adaptation from the infancy gospel of Thomas, which was never canonized. Many people who watch the movie will consider the story to be true, because of the opening statement at the movie’s beginning. They will continue to live with this false interpretation of the life of Jesus.
Application: There is a need for us to teach people the proper gospel message.
*****
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The 2014 movie Left Behind starring Nicolas Cage is based on 16 novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins that use vivid imagery to show how horrible it will be for those who are left behind during the Rapture. One could also suppose that a primary purpose of the books is to scare people into believing in Jesus. As I watched the movie in a silent theater, there was a scene of everyone running decomposed as they were left behind. Then, in the front yard of one home, there was a collie who barked twice. A man sitting several rows behind me said in a very loud voice, “Bad dog!” The theater erupted in laughter, and the absurdity of the movie became apparent to everyone. Why was this dog so bad as to be left behind, when it was very apparent she was a happy and well-disciplined dog? (Note: You can personalize this by introducing it with the statement “A friend shared with me...”)
Application: There is a need for us to teach people the proper gospel message.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
Commercials have always been the centerpiece of the Super Bowl. But, like anything, in order to keep an audience’s attention each year the expectations of new Super Bowl ads are that they will be more dramatic and more innovative. Super Bowl LI was no exception. The bar was really raised when the commercials for some companies were telecast live. This year the commercials were referred to as “marketing stunts.” One company even shot its commercial live on the field of play. With 110 million people watching, and at a cost of $5 million for a 30-second spot, new twists are mandatory to keep spectators involved. Mark DiMassimo, an advertising specialist, said: “It used to be, ‘We need a Super Bowl spot.’ Then, it was, ‘We need a Super Bowl spot and program.’ Now, it’s ‘We need a Super Bowl stunt or event.’ It needs to be newsworthy, social, and surprising -- and it needs to be much bigger than 30 seconds.”
Application: We have lost the simplicity of “let your yes be yes and your no be no.”
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
There are approximately 160,000 survivors of the Holocaust in Israel, with an equal number of survivors are spread across the globe. A recent study found that their greatest need is not money or health care, but an antidote for their loneliness. A program was started in Israel to help provide companionship and bring healing to their isolation by having college students live rent-free with elderly Holocaust survivors. Tamara More, the director of the program, said: “These are people whose lives were robbed from them because of the world’s silence, and we all have an obligation to give them something back in the little time they have left.”
Application: Jesus teaches us to be concerned about people.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
If you have been following the Peanuts comic strip in recent days, you have been engaged in this story. Peppermint Patty wanted a pair of sandals that her father joyfully bought her. She loved the sandals and wore them to school, only to find that they violated the dress code. She had to take off her sandals and put on shoes. Not being able to wear the sandals caused her a great deal of disappointment and hurt. Crying, she explained her frustration and sadness to Snoopy. After listening, Snoopy leaned over and kissed Patty. Then smiling, Snoopy said, “I kissed away a tear!”
Application: Jesus instructs us that we are to be individuals who kiss away a tear.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
The comic Real Life Adventures offers a hilarious take on mundane aspects of life and the problems we all encounter, parodying the everyday chores, squabbles, and quirks of humankind. Cartoonists Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich do this in a humorous way, but the power of their message is never lost. In a recent installment two co-workers are having a discussion about making a contribution to Bud’s birthday. In response, one man sitting at his computer says that Bud is only a peer, not a superior; therefore he will not contribute. In his final statement, he says, “Sorry, I suck up, not sideways.”
Application: Since the man had nothing to gain, he felt no obligation to contribute. Jesus tried to teach us the opposite of this philosophy, and that is that whether or not we have something to gain personally, we must always be willing to contribute to the welfare of another individual.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Happy are we when our way is blameless.
People: Happy are we when we walk in God’s ways.
Leader: God has given us instructions that lead to life.
People: May we steadfastly keep God’s instructions.
Leader: Let us praise our God with upright hearts.
People: Let us learn and keep God’s ways.
OR
Leader: Worship our God, who brings us life eternal.
People: Praise and glory belong to our God.
Leader: God is seeking us that we might find life.
People: Thanks be to God, who loves and seeks us.
Leader: Walk in God’s path and invite others to join you.
People: We will follow Jesus in company with others.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
found in:
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELA: 414
W&P: 138
“Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart”
found in:
UMH: 160, 161
H82: 556, 557
PH: 145, 146
AAHH: 537
NNBH: 7
NCH: 55, 71
CH: 15
LBW: 553
ELA: 873, 874
W&P: 113
AMEC: 8
“Hope of the World”
found in:
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
“O Jesus, I Have Promised”
found in:
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388, 389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELA: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
“Seek Ye First”
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659, 660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“More Love to Thee, O Christ”
found in:
UMH: 453
PH: 359
AAHH: 575
NNBH: 214
NCH: 456
CH: 527
AMEC: 460
“Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service”
found in:
UMH: 581
H82: 610
PH: 427
CH: 461
LBW: 423
ELA: 712
W&P: 575
Renew: 286
“Make Me a Servant”
found in:
CCB: 90
“Open Our Eyes, Lord”
found in:
CCB: 77
Renew: 91
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God, who alone is worthy of our worship: Grant us the wisdom to discern the false gods so that we may forsake them and find life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you alone are worthy of our worship. You are the one true God. Enlighten our hearts that we may discern the false gods who call to us. Help us to forsake them and to follow your path that leads to life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, especially our running after false gods.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have allowed ourselves to be seduced by false gods. They have promised us wealth, security, position, and happiness. We have followed them down the path that leads to destruction and death. Restore us with your wisdom, that we may choose wisely the ways you have set before us that lead to life. Help us to hear the voice of Jesus, which calls us to follow him in the ways of loving service that lead to life eternal. Amen.
Leader: God is always seeking us and seeking to give us life. God delights in our finding our way to life. Receive the grace and forgiveness of God, and follow in God’s path to life.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We come to praise you, O God, for you alone are the Holy One who teaches us the way to life.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have allowed ourselves to be seduced by false gods. They have promised us wealth, security, position, and happiness. We have followed them down the path that leads to destruction and death. Restore us with your wisdom, that we may choose wisely the ways you have set before us that lead to life. Help us to hear the voice of Jesus, which calls us to follow him in the ways of loving service that lead to life eternal.
We give you thanks for all the blessings you give to your children. We thank you that you look over us and call us to eternal life. You have sent us your prophets and seers, your psalmist and evangelists. You have given us the scriptures so that we may learn more about you and the path that leads to life. We thank you for Jesus, who lived among us and taught us by word and action how to follow your ways.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who find themselves on the road to death and destruction, and for those who are on that road and do not yet know it. Make us bold to share the way of life, not out of arrogance or aggression but out of love and care. Help us reach out to others in the love and ways of Jesus.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Find a maze puzzle for the children. Pass out copies of it and invite them to find their way through the maze to the “goal.” Talk about how it can be confusing to decide which path to take. It is easy to get lost. When we are following Jesus, we need to learn to the proper path to go. We do that by reading our Bible, going to Sunday school and church, and prayer. The more we learn about Jesus, the easier it is to follow him and not get lost.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Choose God!
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Supplies:
* a Bible
* pairs of items from which children can choose, such as: 1) a quarter and a dollar bill; 2) a piece of candy and a piece of fruit; 3) a small stuffed animal and a rock (place the items in a bag or box so the children cannot see them; these items will be given to the children to keep)
(Gather the children and invite volunteers to assist you in sharing the message.) I’ve got some items to give to you this morning. But before I give them to you, you will have to choose which item you want.
(Hold out the first set of items to one of your volunteers.) Here I’ve got a quarter and a dollar bill. Which one do you choose?(Let the volunteer keep the item that is chosen; set the other item aside.)
Ask: Why did you choose that item? What do you like about the item? Was there something you didn’t like about the other item? Was it hard to make your choice?
(Repeat the choosing and the questions for the next three to five volunteers. You may reuse items that are not chosen in the first round in subsequent rounds. When all of the choices have been made and the items given out, summarize what you observed and what the children said about making their choices.)
We’re given choices every day. Some choices are easy to make -- especially when you get to choose something you want! Other choices aren’t so easy -- some can even be hard to make.
(Pick up a Bible and open it to Deuteronomy 30.) The message from the Bible today is about making choices.Moses was talking to God’s people as they were getting ready to go into the land God had promised to them. Moses gave them one last set of instructions. He said (vv. 15-16): “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity (you have a choice: choose life or choose death). If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you.”
Moses is telling the people: you can choose life or you can choose death. You can choose to follow God or you can turn away from God.
Moses goes on to say (vv. 17-18): “But if your heart turns away... I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land...”
This seems like an easy choice. Right? Choose life, follow God. Turn away from God, you’re choosing death.
I’m pretty sure I know which I’d choose. But it’s not so easy to follow God -- to love God with your whole heart; to walk in God’s ways, following the ways Jesus teaches us to live; to obey God’s commandments. Choosing to follow God sounds like a good idea, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
God and Moses and Jesus make it pretty clear which is the best choice to make. Our job is to make the choice to follow God each and every day.
I’m glad we have our church and our family and our friends to help us make this choice. Following God is hard work... but it’s good work!
Choose God.
Prayer: Holy God, you don’t make us love you... you let us choose to love you. You don’t make us follow you... you let us choose to follow you. Help us to help one another to make good choices. Help us, O God, to follow you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, February 12, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Mary Austin shares some additional thoughts on God’s approach to “law and order” as outlined in this week’s texts. While we may think it’s as simple as following all of God’s precepts, Mary reminds us that merely following rules is to have the entire process backward. Rather, we obey God by living in harmony with him -- and thus abiding by his laws follows inevitably from our devotion. It is when we choose to chase other gods that we create separation from God -- and thus sentence ourselves to a bad outcome as certainly as a stupid criminal who makes silly choices.
An Ultimate Ultimatum
by Dean Feldmeyer
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The children of Israel are stopped in Moab, at the very edge of the Promised Land, so close they can smell the milk and honey in the air. But before they cross the Jordan, Moses stops everything and preaches a sermon.
“Okay,” he says to the people. “Here’s the deal. You’re about to inhabit the land which God has promised to you. If, when you get over there, you live as God has commanded you to live, everything is going to be great. You are going to prosper and multiply and be happy. But if you allow yourselves to be seduced into worshiping other gods and doing what they allegedly command, then you are going to die. Your land will be beset with trouble and the whole nation will perish. It’s that simple.”
Follow and obey the Lord, God of Israel and live. Or follow some other god and die.
Life or death; it’s your choice.
Three thousand years later, that choice is still before us. God has presented us with an ultimatum about ultimate concerns -- an ultimate ultimatum.
Obey God, as God is made known to us in Jesus Christ, and thrive. Or wander after other gods and die. Simple, right?
Except that those other gods are so many and so attractive, and their promises are so enticing...
In the Scriptures
There is nothing matter of fact or frivolous about the subject which Moses brings to the People of God on the eve of their march into the Promised Land.
It is, he says, a matter of life and death.
It is, as Paul Tillich would put it, a matter of Ultimate Concern.
And that subject is, in a word, “idolatry.”
The greatest threat that the Children of Israel would face upon entering the land that would eventually become Israel was not human foes or the armies of enemies. The greatest threat was not giants or monsters or vast cities. It was not Sodom or Gomorrah or Jericho, not the Jebusites, the Moabites, or the Philistines.
It was the temptation of idolatry, the temptation to worship things that are not worthy of worship.
It is easy, of course, to make the mistake of thinking that idolatry is simple, like making images out of wood or gold or jade and praying to them. That is a form of idolatry, of course, but it is only one form. There are others.
Moses defines idolatry for his people by defining its opposite first (v. 16).
Here is what it looks like when we are not being idolatrous:
1) We love God;
2) We walk in God’s ways; and
3) We observe God’s commandments, decrees, and ordinances.
The opposite of that is found in the next verse (v. 17). We are being idolatrous when we “bow down to other gods and serve them.” When we treat things that are not of ultimate concern as if they are, when we treat things that are created as if they are creators, when we live and walk by rules that are created by something or someone other than God, that is idolatry.
And idolatry inevitably leads to destruction and death. It has to. Anything that is not created by God eventually crumbles and fails. It might take years, even centuries -- but it dies, either by the hand of nature or of human beings.
This is not a threat: it is simply a description of the way life is, the way God made it.
In the Culture
There are so many things that call out to us, that tempt us to worship them instead of God. There are so many things that promise to make our lives better, more fulfilling, more authentic if only we will love them, walk in their ways, and abide by their commandments.
Take the god of “politics,” for instance.
Pick a political philosophy, any political philosophy -- Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Tea Party, Socialist. They are all, at this level, the same. If you promise to love them and dedicate yourself to them until death do you part, they will, they promise, fix all your troubles, solve all your problems, and give your life the depth and meaning that you have been seeking.
If you walk in their ways, upon their narrow path, placing your feet in all the right places, you will see not just your life but all of life blossom and grow. Just as long as you follow in their ways and do not diverge from their path by even so much as a millimeter, things will be just fine.
And if you keep their ordinances and decrees and commandments as they are interpreted only by the appointed high priests and potentates, and follow them to the letter without question, then you will know real life.
Idolatry.
There are other false gods as well, gods to which we from time to time give all of our faith and devotion.
There is a god called “jobs” to which we will bow down, and, if we are not very careful, for which we will sacrifice our entire communities and our ways of life.
There is a false god named “safety” to which, if we are not careful, we will sacrifice the Constitution of the United States and the commandment of Jesus to love one another.
There is an idol called “patriotism” and one called “our country” to which we have and probably will again sacrifice our children, even while we sneer at Abraham’s intended sacrifice of Isaac to the God of the Universe.
Indeed, the idols that surround us and cry out for our attention and our devotion are too many to name here. Some are obvious, and others are very cagey. Why, even the church, the Bible, and our own forms of worship can become idols if we let them, things to which we give the devotion and the adoration that should be reserved only for God, things that we allow to shove God aside and rise in our consciousness to the level of ultimate concern.
That’s not to say that any of these things are, in and of themselves, bad or evil. It is simply to realize that anything can become evil and idolatrous when we turn it into and worship it as a god, when we assign to it our allegiance, our attachment, our dedication, our deference, our faithfulness, and our fealty.
And when we allow that to happen, we put ourselves in a very fragile, indelicate, and dangerous position -- because this issue, the issue of idolatry, says Moses, is a matter of life and death.
In the Sermon
When I was ten years old my family lived in rural Indiana, and there was a rite of passage that most ten-year-old boys went through in that place and time. It was called the BB gun.
I got mine on the Christmas following my tenth birthday, and I remember that it was a solemn occasion indeed. After all the presents were unwrapped, my dad took me out to the backyard and showed me how to load the gun, pump/cock it, and shoot it. He was very serious about gun safety.
His speech was an ultimatum that went something like this: “Dean, this is a gun, not a toy. You treat it with respect, and remember that it’s always loaded and cocked. If you prove that you can be responsible with this one, then in a couple of years you can get a .22 [rifle], and if you are responsible with that, in a couple more years you can get a shotgun. Do you understand?”
I nodded that I did. My head was filled with visions of myself out in the snowy farm fields that surrounded our home, kicking up and killing rabbits, pheasant, and partridge and bringing them home for supper.
Then my father added this: “But if I ever see or hear of you being irresponsible or unsafe with this gun, there will never be another one. Ever. No second chances.”
I understood that as well.
His ultimatum may not have been about ultimate concerns, but it made very clear what the real issues, the really important parts of gun ownership were. And it laid out for me my two options. Safe and responsible = life. Unsafe and irresponsible = the death of any dreams I had about going hunting with my dad.
The ultimatum that Moses delivers to the Children of Israel, and to us, is no less clear.
On the one hand we can choose devotion to God.
We can choose to love God. That is the only appropriate basis for a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. It is not a relationship based on fear or on some quid pro quo with a payoff at the end. It is based on love.
Because we are Christians, we come into it seeing it through the lens that is Jesus Christ.
We agree to love God, as God comes to us in Jesus Christ, and that agreement is not unlike the relationship we initiate when we promise to love and to cherish, and to honor and to keep, forsaking all others, until we are parted by death. When we promise to love our spouse or our God, we acknowledge that love is a decision and a commitment freely made.
Our relationship with God leads us to walk in God’s way as it comes to us through Jesus Christ, the way of grace, peace, love, kindness, and generosity. His way is the narrow way that is so demanding that only a few can pass through it, but it is the only way that leads to real, eternal, and authentic life -- and it is to that way that we commit ourselves.
Our relationship with God also stands upon a foundation of obedience when we freely agree to keep and obey God’s commandments and ordinances and laws as they come to us in Jesus Christ. This is especially true not just of the Ten Commandments but of the Beatitudes as well, and of the Great Commandment to love God and our neighbor, and the Great Commission to share that love with everyone all over the world.
To do any less, to love a thing or a lesser being as though it was God, to walk in the way of a person, a group, a philosophy that comes to us through anyone other than Jesus Christ, to make ourselves obedient to anyone or anything that is less than the God of history, is to place our very lives and the lives of those we love in jeopardy.
For this is all a matter of ultimate concern, a matter of life and death.
SECOND THOUGHTS
by Mary Austin
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; Matthew 5:21-37
The stupidity of criminals is such a popular topic that the Huffington Post has a whole section devoted to it. Dumb Criminals devotes its entire website to similar stories. We love to know that when someone breaks the law, the punishment is swift and fitting. If the criminals punish themselves with their own missteps, even better. Most often, justice is more nuanced -- and elusive. The system punishes the innocent and misses the guilty.
We long for certainty, and for justice to land in the right places. We talk about “law and order” as if one inevitably follows the other. If human justice is flawed, surely God’s law offers more certainty. Right? Right?!
Speaking to the pilgrim people of Israel as they prepare to enter the promised land, Moses seems to offer just that kind of certainty. “If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God,” he says, “then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering.” If the people don’t follow God’s laws, then punishment will come. It seems simple enough. The obedience Moses is talking about, though, is not rule-following but the people giving their hearts to God. Choosing God, obeying God, and holding onto God are all twined together. It’s more than checking boxes or following a list of rules.
“Happy are those who walk in the law of the Lord,” the psalmist proclaims. Happy, or blessed, are the people whose lives align with God’s law. Law is singular -- we’re meant to arrange our lives to fit the pattern of God’s overall law, not the huge number of particular laws in the Hebrew scriptures. Are we blessed by God when we follow this divinely set path? Is it like putting a quarter in the gumball machine -- does following the rules leads to a reward? Yes, but the reward is never what we expect. There’s no guarantee of shiny new sports cars in the driveway and lottery winnings.
How will the people know when they’ve done enough? When is following God’s law complete?
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus offers his own interpretation of the law. He has already announced that he has not come to abolish the law but to make it complete (5:17), and now he asks his followers to go deeper with each law. Following God’s law has a deeper requirement than remembering not to kill people -- we have to deal with our murderous impulses, even when we never act on them. Murder is rare. The anger that lives in our hearts is an everyday problem, and is much more demanding. The same is true with adultery. Being physically unfaithful requires a lot of planning -- hotel rooms, secret texts, and remembering the lies you tell. Our inner fantasies are easier to schedule, but they have the same result -- turning another person into a bit player in our lives for our own needs. On the question of divorce, Jesus again takes a stronger stand than the requirements of the law. Finally he says that when we do all of that, our word will be enough. We don’t need to amplify it with an oath.
Jesus’ words on divorce are hard to navigate in our world, when everyone listening to these words will be divorced, or related to someone who is. Jesus is calling us to act toward one another in ways that are better than what we are required to do. He’s also recognizing that once two people have been married, a bond continues between them even when the legal tie dissolves. Each person continues to carry a part the other with them, even when the legal tie is gone. The family that can vacation together after a divorce or the former spouses who spend the holidays together show us the essence of what Jesus is talking about here, in a different time.
It turns out that he seeks a law of caring for one another. Even in our thoughts, we are supposed to watch out for one another’s well-being.
I sometimes see a bumper sticker that says: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!” If only! If only God would give us a checklist. That would be so much easier than what Moses lays out in Deuteronomy, and Jesus adds in his words. Really, when God says it that’s just the beginning. Jesus adds to it. We ponder its meaning for our lives. God asks not for rule-followers but for people who align their hearts toward the holy.
We’re able to do this because we already belong to God. Scholar Terence Fretheim observes that “It is important to recognize that this word of God is delivered to a people that had already been redeemed by God (see Deuteronomy 7:7-8). This is a word from God to God’s chosen and redeemed people. So, when they are called by God to ‘choose life’ (Deuteronomy 30:19), this is a word given to them from within their relationship with God, not a means by which they could become the people of God.” God’s people are not earning their place in God’s heart; they’re choosing to keep the connection.
The psalmist has the order for us when he writes: “Happy are those who... seek [God] with their whole heart” -- then he adds “who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways.” Seeking God comes first. Searching for God with our whole hearts is the overall guide that leads us into following all of the other requirements. When we don’t follow, we end up punishing ourselves. Our separation from God creates pain. Our use of other people as outlets for our anger, fantasy, or revenge divides us from them. Our spiritual stupidity punishes us with division from God and one another. Like the dumbest of criminals, our sentence comes from our own choices.
But we can always choose the vibrant life that God offers, and keep turning toward the holy. The option to “choose life,” to choose in the direction of God is continually before us. We fall short, choose foolishly, act without love -- and still, by grace, have the chance to choose again to move toward God. The work of following is never complete, and the reward is always in front of us -- more of God’s presence in our lives.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Resilience as the Path Toward Life
Moses’ speech is straightforward and clear: the past for Israel has been one of struggle, adversity, and trauma. Yet there is a way forward, a way that leads to a blessed and prosperous life. The way forward, found by walking in God’s way, is a way of resilience that builds on the adversity of the past to experience a more hopeful, confident future.
Resilience is defined as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress -- such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. It means ‘bouncing back’ from difficult experiences.”
Theologically, of course, God calls Israel to do more than “bounce back.” God calls Israel to a way of resilient faith which eschews idols and quick-fixes for a maturing relationship with God.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Beyond Trauma
Advances in multiple fields of science have shown the impact that early experiences of trauma have on the future mental and physical health of children. Research shows that the ability of children to “choose life” and life-giving health is deeply impacted by early experiences of trauma. Many believe that the impact of childhood trauma can lead to emotional and physical symptoms decades later. “Toxic stress” events such as bullying, witnessing domestic abuse, and acts of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse have a profound impact on developing brains.
It’s another indication of Moses’ imploring to seek life -- a reminder for families of the resources a healthy faith community can provide in helping children learn the life-giving ways of faith.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
Seeking Reconciliation
The community Jesus invites us to build in God’s name is a community rooted in peace, a community that seeks reconciliation -- even up to the extreme move of leaving a gift at the altar so that one may be reconciled to an estranged sister of brother.
As the residents of Quebec City come together in the wake of the attack on a mosque last week, many are discovering the power of this sort of “extreme” reconciliation. Four women -- two Muslim and two Catholic -- gathered near the blood-stained carpeting of the Quebec City mosque last week in order to find understanding. Six days after a gunman attacked worshipers at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec, the women sought a new solidarity:
“The solidarity we’ve seen from Quebecers, it really surprised us and it helped put a balm on the enormous wound,” Samira Laouni, wearing a hijab, told the others. “Since Monday, the silent majority has stood up and said no to hatred, no to division.”
Across from her: Thérèse Morin, visiting a mosque for the first time and having her first conversation with Muslims, at an open house organized by the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec as it reopened six days after a gunman killed six men as they prayed there.
Morin showed up because of a Muslim man who spoke at a memorial service for the victims last week at the church across the street, Notre-Dame-de-Foy, where she sings in the choir.
“He started his speech by saying, ‘In my religion, we are told that when you love someone you should tell them,’ ” Morin said. “So he looked at us and told us, ‘I love you.’ I was so touched, I was almost shaking.”
Then, “he talked about how Quebecers are welcoming, warm, resilient. Honestly, I didn’t expect to hear something like that in these circumstances.”
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Joseph Meli and Steven Simmons of New York City had a good and lucrative business going for them. Corporations would invest money with them, which they would use to purchase expensive theater tickets. In return, the companies received a profit on the tickets sold at an inflated price. The only catch was that this was a Ponzi scheme. Meli and Simmons used the money from one company to cover the investment of another company, while using their gains to support an extravagant lifestyle. After a year when investors began to call in the money, the duo could not repay. William Sweeney, of the FBI, said: “When fraudsters think they’re going to get away with scheming investors out of money, they tend to forget that at some point the money will run out. It’s the way a Ponzi scheme ends.”
Application: We are cautioned about worshiping false gods.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
California has approved the recreational use of marijuana. The state is now confronted with writing rules and regulations regarding multiple aspects of the new law, including licensing requirements, environmental issues, and homegrown restrictions to just name a few. Presently the law calls for 20 different licenses alone. Twelve individuals, working in cubicles, have until January 1, 2018 to have all the regulations in place. State Senator Mike McGuire, whose Northern California district has the best fields for the new project that will collect $1 billion in taxes, said that California’s team of regulators is “building the airplane while it’s being flown.”
Application: Deuteronomy is trying to bring some kind of order to society.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
I was a state trooper before being called into the ordained ministry. It took me some time to reorient myself to church people’s understanding of sin. It seemed to me that they got all riled up over the most innocuous behavior as being a sinful act. For me, sin began at the door of the Richmond State Penitentiary. I came to realize that most church people did not understand what bad behavior really is. I also realized they were never really exposed to acts so vile as to put a man in the penitentiary. If they had a better understanding of real evil, they would have tempered their condemnation of others. (Note: You can personalize this by introducing it with the statement “A friend shared with me...”)
Application: Deuteronomy wants us to understand the meaning of sin.
*****
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The 16 novels in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins use vivid imagery to show how horrible it will be for those who are left behind during the Rapture. One could also suppose that a primary purpose of the books is to scare people into believing in Jesus. From the sale of the books, movie rights, and many commercial products associated with the books (such as a Left Behind mouse pad), Tim LaHaye has become a multimillionaire. He is worth in excess of $6 million. Tim and his wife Beverly used the money to live an extravagant lifestyle. When questioned why someone who expected the immediate return of Jesus would accumulate such a massive amount of wealth instead of donating it to the cause of evangelism to spare as many people from being left behind as possible, LaHaye dismissed the inquiry by saying he tithed.
Application: There is a need for us to teach people the proper gospel message and not to worship the god of self.
*****
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The movie The Young Messiah tells about a year in the life of young Jesus when his family fled to Egypt, and then returned to Nazareth. The opening credits state that the movie is based on the gospel stories. In one scene, young Jesus is walking along the beach and comes upon a dead bluebird. He takes the bird in his hands and massages it, then the bird miraculously comes to life and flies away. The little girl who is with him is amazed. The problem with this story is that it comes from in an adaptation from the infancy gospel of Thomas, which was never canonized. Many people who watch the movie will consider the story to be true, because of the opening statement at the movie’s beginning. They will continue to live with this false interpretation of the life of Jesus.
Application: There is a need for us to teach people the proper gospel message.
*****
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The 2014 movie Left Behind starring Nicolas Cage is based on 16 novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins that use vivid imagery to show how horrible it will be for those who are left behind during the Rapture. One could also suppose that a primary purpose of the books is to scare people into believing in Jesus. As I watched the movie in a silent theater, there was a scene of everyone running decomposed as they were left behind. Then, in the front yard of one home, there was a collie who barked twice. A man sitting several rows behind me said in a very loud voice, “Bad dog!” The theater erupted in laughter, and the absurdity of the movie became apparent to everyone. Why was this dog so bad as to be left behind, when it was very apparent she was a happy and well-disciplined dog? (Note: You can personalize this by introducing it with the statement “A friend shared with me...”)
Application: There is a need for us to teach people the proper gospel message.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
Commercials have always been the centerpiece of the Super Bowl. But, like anything, in order to keep an audience’s attention each year the expectations of new Super Bowl ads are that they will be more dramatic and more innovative. Super Bowl LI was no exception. The bar was really raised when the commercials for some companies were telecast live. This year the commercials were referred to as “marketing stunts.” One company even shot its commercial live on the field of play. With 110 million people watching, and at a cost of $5 million for a 30-second spot, new twists are mandatory to keep spectators involved. Mark DiMassimo, an advertising specialist, said: “It used to be, ‘We need a Super Bowl spot.’ Then, it was, ‘We need a Super Bowl spot and program.’ Now, it’s ‘We need a Super Bowl stunt or event.’ It needs to be newsworthy, social, and surprising -- and it needs to be much bigger than 30 seconds.”
Application: We have lost the simplicity of “let your yes be yes and your no be no.”
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
There are approximately 160,000 survivors of the Holocaust in Israel, with an equal number of survivors are spread across the globe. A recent study found that their greatest need is not money or health care, but an antidote for their loneliness. A program was started in Israel to help provide companionship and bring healing to their isolation by having college students live rent-free with elderly Holocaust survivors. Tamara More, the director of the program, said: “These are people whose lives were robbed from them because of the world’s silence, and we all have an obligation to give them something back in the little time they have left.”
Application: Jesus teaches us to be concerned about people.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
If you have been following the Peanuts comic strip in recent days, you have been engaged in this story. Peppermint Patty wanted a pair of sandals that her father joyfully bought her. She loved the sandals and wore them to school, only to find that they violated the dress code. She had to take off her sandals and put on shoes. Not being able to wear the sandals caused her a great deal of disappointment and hurt. Crying, she explained her frustration and sadness to Snoopy. After listening, Snoopy leaned over and kissed Patty. Then smiling, Snoopy said, “I kissed away a tear!”
Application: Jesus instructs us that we are to be individuals who kiss away a tear.
*****
Matthew 5:21-37
The comic Real Life Adventures offers a hilarious take on mundane aspects of life and the problems we all encounter, parodying the everyday chores, squabbles, and quirks of humankind. Cartoonists Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich do this in a humorous way, but the power of their message is never lost. In a recent installment two co-workers are having a discussion about making a contribution to Bud’s birthday. In response, one man sitting at his computer says that Bud is only a peer, not a superior; therefore he will not contribute. In his final statement, he says, “Sorry, I suck up, not sideways.”
Application: Since the man had nothing to gain, he felt no obligation to contribute. Jesus tried to teach us the opposite of this philosophy, and that is that whether or not we have something to gain personally, we must always be willing to contribute to the welfare of another individual.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Happy are we when our way is blameless.
People: Happy are we when we walk in God’s ways.
Leader: God has given us instructions that lead to life.
People: May we steadfastly keep God’s instructions.
Leader: Let us praise our God with upright hearts.
People: Let us learn and keep God’s ways.
OR
Leader: Worship our God, who brings us life eternal.
People: Praise and glory belong to our God.
Leader: God is seeking us that we might find life.
People: Thanks be to God, who loves and seeks us.
Leader: Walk in God’s path and invite others to join you.
People: We will follow Jesus in company with others.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
found in:
UMH: 79
H82: 366
PH: 460
NNBH: 13
NCH: 276
LBW: 535
ELA: 414
W&P: 138
“Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart”
found in:
UMH: 160, 161
H82: 556, 557
PH: 145, 146
AAHH: 537
NNBH: 7
NCH: 55, 71
CH: 15
LBW: 553
ELA: 873, 874
W&P: 113
AMEC: 8
“Hope of the World”
found in:
UMH: 178
H82: 472
PH: 360
NCH: 46
CH: 538
LBW: 493
W&P: 404
“O Jesus, I Have Promised”
found in:
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388, 389
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELA: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
“Seek Ye First”
found in:
UMH: 405
H82: 711
PH: 333
CH: 354
W&P: 349
CCB: 76
“O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee”
found in:
UMH: 430
H82: 659, 660
PH: 357
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELA: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
“More Love to Thee, O Christ”
found in:
UMH: 453
PH: 359
AAHH: 575
NNBH: 214
NCH: 456
CH: 527
AMEC: 460
“Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service”
found in:
UMH: 581
H82: 610
PH: 427
CH: 461
LBW: 423
ELA: 712
W&P: 575
Renew: 286
“Make Me a Servant”
found in:
CCB: 90
“Open Our Eyes, Lord”
found in:
CCB: 77
Renew: 91
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God, who alone is worthy of our worship: Grant us the wisdom to discern the false gods so that we may forsake them and find life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for you alone are worthy of our worship. You are the one true God. Enlighten our hearts that we may discern the false gods who call to us. Help us to forsake them and to follow your path that leads to life. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, especially our running after false gods.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have allowed ourselves to be seduced by false gods. They have promised us wealth, security, position, and happiness. We have followed them down the path that leads to destruction and death. Restore us with your wisdom, that we may choose wisely the ways you have set before us that lead to life. Help us to hear the voice of Jesus, which calls us to follow him in the ways of loving service that lead to life eternal. Amen.
Leader: God is always seeking us and seeking to give us life. God delights in our finding our way to life. Receive the grace and forgiveness of God, and follow in God’s path to life.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We come to praise you, O God, for you alone are the Holy One who teaches us the way to life.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have allowed ourselves to be seduced by false gods. They have promised us wealth, security, position, and happiness. We have followed them down the path that leads to destruction and death. Restore us with your wisdom, that we may choose wisely the ways you have set before us that lead to life. Help us to hear the voice of Jesus, which calls us to follow him in the ways of loving service that lead to life eternal.
We give you thanks for all the blessings you give to your children. We thank you that you look over us and call us to eternal life. You have sent us your prophets and seers, your psalmist and evangelists. You have given us the scriptures so that we may learn more about you and the path that leads to life. We thank you for Jesus, who lived among us and taught us by word and action how to follow your ways.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who find themselves on the road to death and destruction, and for those who are on that road and do not yet know it. Make us bold to share the way of life, not out of arrogance or aggression but out of love and care. Help us reach out to others in the love and ways of Jesus.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Find a maze puzzle for the children. Pass out copies of it and invite them to find their way through the maze to the “goal.” Talk about how it can be confusing to decide which path to take. It is easy to get lost. When we are following Jesus, we need to learn to the proper path to go. We do that by reading our Bible, going to Sunday school and church, and prayer. The more we learn about Jesus, the easier it is to follow him and not get lost.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Choose God!
by Beth Herrinton-Hodge
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Supplies:
* a Bible
* pairs of items from which children can choose, such as: 1) a quarter and a dollar bill; 2) a piece of candy and a piece of fruit; 3) a small stuffed animal and a rock (place the items in a bag or box so the children cannot see them; these items will be given to the children to keep)
(Gather the children and invite volunteers to assist you in sharing the message.) I’ve got some items to give to you this morning. But before I give them to you, you will have to choose which item you want.
(Hold out the first set of items to one of your volunteers.) Here I’ve got a quarter and a dollar bill. Which one do you choose?(Let the volunteer keep the item that is chosen; set the other item aside.)
Ask: Why did you choose that item? What do you like about the item? Was there something you didn’t like about the other item? Was it hard to make your choice?
(Repeat the choosing and the questions for the next three to five volunteers. You may reuse items that are not chosen in the first round in subsequent rounds. When all of the choices have been made and the items given out, summarize what you observed and what the children said about making their choices.)
We’re given choices every day. Some choices are easy to make -- especially when you get to choose something you want! Other choices aren’t so easy -- some can even be hard to make.
(Pick up a Bible and open it to Deuteronomy 30.) The message from the Bible today is about making choices.Moses was talking to God’s people as they were getting ready to go into the land God had promised to them. Moses gave them one last set of instructions. He said (vv. 15-16): “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity (you have a choice: choose life or choose death). If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you.”
Moses is telling the people: you can choose life or you can choose death. You can choose to follow God or you can turn away from God.
Moses goes on to say (vv. 17-18): “But if your heart turns away... I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land...”
This seems like an easy choice. Right? Choose life, follow God. Turn away from God, you’re choosing death.
I’m pretty sure I know which I’d choose. But it’s not so easy to follow God -- to love God with your whole heart; to walk in God’s ways, following the ways Jesus teaches us to live; to obey God’s commandments. Choosing to follow God sounds like a good idea, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
God and Moses and Jesus make it pretty clear which is the best choice to make. Our job is to make the choice to follow God each and every day.
I’m glad we have our church and our family and our friends to help us make this choice. Following God is hard work... but it’s good work!
Choose God.
Prayer: Holy God, you don’t make us love you... you let us choose to love you. You don’t make us follow you... you let us choose to follow you. Help us to help one another to make good choices. Help us, O God, to follow you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, February 12, 2017, issue.
Copyright 2017 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
